Protective equipment



1954 w. c. THOMPSON PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Filed Aug. '24, 1949 w, M C WWY u B A7 ORNE'Y United States Patenti) PROTECTIVE t EQUIPMENT Wesley C. :ThompsongStJ-Louis, Mo.

vApplicationAugust.24, .1949, Serial No. 112,135 '2 Claims. (CLIStJ- SZ) This invention relates to improvements in protective equipment. More particularly this invention relates to .Iirnprovedprotectiveequipment that can'be used by newspaper vendors.

It.'.is therefore anobject of the present invention to provide-an improved protective coverfor use by newspaper vendors.

ffNewspapers .are frequently printed and sold so rapidly that the ink-on the paper does not havesufficient time to-jdry. As a result, newspaper vendors, who hold the newspapers under their-arms while they attempt to vend them .find that the ink rubs ofi of the newspapers and onto their clothing. This ink is dark, and it quickly discolorsthe clothing; making the clothing unattractive and unusable for general wear. "Moreover, the discoloration of .the .clothingof the newspaper vendors detracts seriously .from the overall appearance of thenewspaper vendors. The present-invention obviates discoloration of .the .clothing vof newspaper vendors by providing a protective cover'which can be interposed between the newspapers .held'bythe newspaper vendor and the vendor7s.clothing.' While the ,ink may still rub off of the newspapers, it will rub olf onto the protective cover andnotonto the clothing of thenewspaper vendor. It .is therefore an object of the present invention .to provide an improved protective cover that can :be used by newspapervendors to protect their clothing against the Iink on newspapers.

It is necessary for thenewspaper vendorto .have ready access .to the newspapers which he wishes to vend, and yet .those papers should be kept from 'discolorlngvv his clothing. The ,present invention makes it possible to satisfy both ,of .these. requirements by providing a v panel which canbe interposed between the newspapers'held byfthe vendor and the sleeve of the vendors coat or shirt, and which has a cutaway corner. The cut-away corner will .facilitate ready grasping of the newspapers by :lthe-veridor, and yet .it will not .permit .discoloring of the vendors 'clotl'iing,'because it Will'be at one end of the panel and thus spaced'from the vendors arm. It is therefore .an objector" the present invention to provide a panel which can be interposed between the sleeve of the vendors coat "or shirt and the newspapers, and which has a cut-away corner.

The protective cover provided by .the present 112N611- tionhas 'a ,generally-rectangular panel in addition .to the panel with the cut-away corner. 'This generally rectangular ;panl will "beinterposed between the vendors'body and the newspapers, while the panel with the cut-away corner will :be interposed between the vendors...arm and the newspapers. The vendors body,

being-thicker than the vendorsarm, .will be fully,pro-' tected against contact with the newspapers by 'the generally rectangular panel; the vendors arm, being smaller, will be fully protected against contact with the newspapers by the panel with the cut-away corner. It 15 therefore an object of the present invention to provide a protective cover which has a generally-rectangular panel and a panel with a cut-away corner.

The protective cover provided by the present invention has a flexible flap which can be placed over the upper edges of the newspapers during rain or snow, but which can be folded back out of the way in good weather. This fiap can have a snap fastener thereon that will enable part of the flap to be folded back and held; that part of the flap being held back during mists or light snows. This flap will protect the newspapers against the elements. It is therefore an ob ect of the present invention .to provide a protective -cover, :-.'-for useby newspaper vendors, which has a flap .that can.

be placed over the pap.er,s.in .bad .weather, canihepartially foldedi'back "in damp weather, and vcanfbe folded out of theway'inifair weather.

"T he generally-rectangular, panel. and 'Ihepanlwith'fthe cut=away corner arejfhl'd ltogetheriby spaced flexible The spacing of the strips is "important sincewhichqhas two Zflexible tstrjipsthat. extend .betweenan'df connect the panels of the'.cover but. are spaced apart to enable'the vendor ,to ,graspQthe newspapers.

The protective cover provided bytthe' present inven tion is additionally useful "in protecting.theprint .ondlhe newspaper. against ,smud'g'ing. It frequentlylhappensfion hot days, that the perspiration onIthe vven'dorfs .sleeve will cause the ink: onv thenewspapers to becomeslnudged.

This 'smu'dging of 'the print is objectionable; partially because 1t..det11acts from .the .appearance of the .newspaper, butn pr inoipallylbecause itmakesfth'e readingtof the material on the 'frontgpage of the -newspaper d1f 'ficult. 'Thesmudging .of .the .print .on (any .page of,tl1e.

newspaper would be undesirable, but that .srnu'dging is particularly undesirable .on the ."front pagesincethatj page vis supposed .to ..car ry themost, important news -.of

the day. The-presentinvention.minimizes such: smudging by spacing T1116 ven'dorfs arm or sleeve .away fromathe newspapers.

1 Other and further objects and. advantages .of the pres. ent invention .should become apparent from anexamination of the drawing and accompanying description.v

.In the drawing. and.,accon 1panying ,Tdescription..a,:pre-' ferred embodiment of. the present invention .is .show-nland' describedfbut itlisto be understood Ithatthe drawing .and

accompanying jdesc'ription are .for the purpose .of .-il- I lustration only and do not limit the invention .and that theinvention will be. defined by. the appended claims.

lnthe drawingFig. lisaview Oftheprotective cover provided .by .the present invention as .that protective cover. is unfoldedand laid .;out -flat.

:Fig.'l2 fista perspective view of the. cover .of .Eig. .1 zas it will. appear when used in'fair weather. I Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof the protectivecoverpf Figis. lnand 2fasit willappearwhenused @inbadweather, an

of'Figs. 143 as it willappeanwhen .use'd inadarnpweather. Referring .to the .;drawing ,in (detail, the .numenal .1 0

denotes a framewhich'isenclosed withina fabric cover-12.

TheframelO is preferably ,made .of .a light-weight .steel thatis welded .to ,give I. it rigidity. and stiffness; however 'that' frame .can'lbe made, of other materials.

10.has,a cut-away .corner that stops. short of.the-,longitud'mal center of .lthet'frame. The fabric cover x12 .has=.a

cut-.away.corner,. arid .that'cover .closelyffits the. frame .10.; the .cover..12 .and-the frame 10 .constitutingta .sturdvpanel :with a.cut-.away corner. 'Thepanel formedby cover .12

and'frame.-.10.willbe substantiallythe sizeof a newspaper page folded .in'. half. '1iThis,.panel will .be the front panel of the protective cover provided by the present invention, I

and it .be, interposed between .the -arm-, of then-news- =paper vendor and the papers held by that arm.

Two strips 14, preferably of fabric, are secured to the fabric cover 12, and these strips will hold the front and rear panels of the protective cover against separation and loss. These strips 14 are spaced apart to form an opening through which the vendors hand can be inserted to directly grasp the newspapers encased by the protective cover of the present invention. If desired, a single connector of shorter length than the protective cover could be substituted for the strips 14. The strips 14 are connected to a fabric cover 18 for a rectangular frame 16. The frame 16 also is preferably made of a light-weight steel which is welded to provide a rigid and sturdy construction; but it too can be made of other materials. The frame 16 and the fabric cover 18 constitute the rear panel of the protective cover provided by the present f atented Nov. 2,

Fig. -4..is a perspective view of=the..protect-ive.cover .The Jframe invention, and that panel will be sturdy and can be interposed between the vendors body and the newspapers pressed against that body.

A flexible flap 20, preferably of fabric, is secured to the fabric cover 18. The fabric flap 20 is provided with folded seams 22 to avoid raw edges. In the case of fabric covers 12 and 18, raw edges are avoided by sewing those covers so the seams at the exposed edges are internal seams. The covers 12 and 18 are preferably formed as sacks or bags, have the frames and 16 inserted within them, and have their open edges sewn or cemented closed. The flap 20 can be folded back against the rear panel, it can be folded over the top edges of the newspapers, or it can be placed over the upper edges of the newspapers and yet have one corner thereof folded back.

Complementary snap fasteners 24 and 26 can be secured to the fiap 20; and the snap fastener 24 can be moved adjacent to, and secured to, the snap fastener 26 by folding one corner of the flap 20 back. Where such folding is neither required nor desired, the snap fasteners 24 and 26 can be separated and the flap 20 permitted to be fiat.

It is preferable to make the panels of the protective cover as fabric-encased metal frames, because such panels are light in weight, readily washed, and are not cold to the touch. However, if desired, the panels could be made of sheet metal, wood, pressed paper, plastic-impregnated cloth or paper, or the like.

In using the protective cover provided by the present invention, a news vendor will, in fair weather, fold the flap 20 back against the rear panel, as shown in Fig. 2. Thereafter he will place the newspapers 28 between the front and rear panels, he will place the rear panel against his body, place his arm against the front panel, and insert his hand into the opening between strips 14. That hand will hold the newspapers against falling, and the panels will hold the newspapers flat while protecting the vendors clothing against discoloration and protecting the print against smudging due to perspiration. The connecting strips 14 may droop down below the bottoms of the newspapers 28, but that is not important since the principal support for the newspapers 28 will come from the vendors hand and the front and rear panels. The cut-away corner of the front panel will enable the vendor to grasp the upper edges of the newspapers 28 and hand them to the purchasers.

In bad weather, the flap 20 will be folded over the tops of the newspapers 28, as shown particularly in Fig. 3. That flap will then shed rain or snow which would otherwise strike the newspapers. The flap 20 will lie loosely against the front panel, and thus the newspaper vendor can easily reach under the flap 20 and withdraw one or more newspapers, as desired.

In misty weather, the vendor can move the snap fastener 24 into engagement with the snap fastener 26, as shown particularly in Fig. 4. At such times, the flap 20 will shed the moisture that collects on it, and yet it will provide even more ready access to the newspapers 28 than it could when in the position shown in Fig. 3.

The only direct contact which the newspaper vendor need have with the newspapers 28 will be with his hands. One hand will extend through the opening between connecting strips 14 to underlie and support the bottom.

edges of newspapers 28, and the other hand will grasp those corners of newspapers 28 which are exposed by the cut-away corner of the front panel. All other contact with the newspaper can be had indirectly through the medium of the protective cover. In this way the newspaper vendor can protect his clothing from the ink on the newspapers.

Whereas a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described in the drawing and accompanying description it should be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes can be made in the form of the invention without afiecting the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

l. A protective cover for newspapers which can facilitate the vending of newspapers without any soiling or discoloring of the clothing of the newspaper vendor and which comprises a rear panel dimensioned to be disposed between the body of the newspaper vendor and the newspapers to be sold, said panel being a fabric-covered frame of metal, said panel being substantially coextensive with the newspapers to be sold, a front panel dimensioned to be disposed between the arm of the newspaper vendor and the newspapers to be sold, said front panel being a fabric-covered frame of metal, said front panel having a cut-away corner to facilitate grasping of the newspapers to be sold, said cut-away corner stopping short of the longitudinal center of said front panel, connecting strips secured to each of said front and rear panels and maintaining said panels in assembled relation, said strips being flexible, said strips being spaced apart a distance suficient to permit the newspaper vendors hand to pass through and to grasp the lower edges of the newspapers to be sold, a flexible flap connected to the upper edge of said rear panel and adapted to overlie the upper edges of the newspapers to be sold, and fasteners on said flap that can hold a corner of said flap folded back, said fasteners being spaced relative to said cut-away corner of said front panel so the folded corner of the flap is adjacent the cut-away corner of the front panel, said flap being foldable back to uncover the upper edges of newspapers disposed between said front and rear panels.

2. A protective cover for newspapers which can facilitate the vending of newspapers without any soiling or discoloring of the clothing of the newspaper vendor and which comprises a rear panel dimensioned to be disposed between the body of the newspaper vendor and the newspapers to be sold, said panel being a fabric-covered frame of metal, said panel being substantially coextensive with the newspapers to be sold, a front panel dimensioned to be disposed between the arm of the newspaper vendor and the newspapers to be sold, said front panel being a fabric-covered frame of metal, said front panel having a cut-away corner stopping short of the longitudinal center of said front panel, connecting strips secured to each of said front and rear panels and maintaining said panels in assembled relation, said strips being flexible, said strips being spaced apart a distance sufficient to permit the newspaper vendors hand to pass through and grasp the lower edges of the newspapers to be sold, and a flexible flap adapted to overlie and protect the upper edges of newspapers disposed between said front and rear panels, said flap being foldable back to uncover the upper edges of newspapers disposed between said front and rear panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 17,311 Arthur May 19, 1857 218,420 Baker Aug. 12, 1879 307,004 Birchard et al. Oct. 21, 1884 554,876 Hosmer Feb. 18, 1896 FOREIGN PATENTS I Number Country Date 18,246 Great Britain Aug. 1, 1914 

